Friday, August 31, 2012

WELCOME TO YA READS!

Welcome to my blog, a project created for a class on Young Adult Materials (LIBR 265-10).

This project includes a range of enriching materials for young adults, including databases, books, audiobooks, videogames, music and periodicals. In doing my research, I spoke with teen librarians, teenagers, young adults, and teachers, and I consulted many periodicals and blogs. Also, I was able to use my experience as a young adult librarian and English teacher in order to tap into resources that could be fun and educational. The materials here are all teen-tested and they capture the full range of various teen interests and skill levels.

The books tap into a variety of genres, including non-fiction and fiction, fantasy and realistic novels, sci-fi and horror, action-oriented and ones that focus on philosophical musings and intellectual banter. There are true stories about serious problems and there are wildly conjured dream-stories. They really cover the entire spectrum. Although there are many fantastic books, graphic novels, games, and other materials that didn’t make it on the list, all of these would be wonderful resources in any public or school library that caters to older teens. Some of them are ground-breaking and some have been deemed the very best in their genre or format.

Because some of these recommendations might be controversial, I have included ideas on how to deal with challenges that might arise. There are also booktalking ideas, the reading level (which is about vocabulary and syntax, not content) and interest level. I would not recommend these materials for children under the age of the posted interest level.

More recent posts will have a looser format since they are not being composed for an assignment.